The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) compared May to July 2026 with the same three months a year earlier in its Energy Trends release published on 29 September. Primary energy consumption on a fuel-input basis declined 3.5%, while the temperature-adjusted measure fell 4%. Indigenous energy production was down 10% over the same period. These are not identical measures: temperature adjustment attempts to remove differences in heating demand caused by weather, while the fuel-input series is not adjusted in that way. The 3.5% and 4% figures are alternative calculations and should not be added together or read as one combined contraction.

DESNZ reported that electricity generation by major power producers was 0.4% lower year on year. Within that total, gas-fired generation rose 18%, while renewable generation fell 0.3% and nuclear generation fell 27%. In the generation mix for major producers, renewables accounted for 48.5%, gas 35.9% and nuclear 14.7%. These shares and growth rates answer different questions: a share describes the composition of generation during the period, while a percentage change compares a quantity with the same period a year earlier. The figures do not have the same coverage as a quarterly total for all generators: DESNZ says data for major power producers are published monthly, while data covering all generating companies are quarterly.

The low-carbon share of generation fell 5.4 percentage points to 63.2%, while the fossil-fuel share rose by the same number of points to 36.1%. A percentage-point change should not be confused with a percentage change: 5.4 points is the absolute difference in shares. The data describe the power mix in one period; they do not by themselves prove that the long-term energy transition has reversed. Quarterly generation can respond to weather, maintenance schedules, demand, fuel prices and plant availability. These are observed statistical results, not forecasts.

The same release included a more recent but differently timed energy-price indicator: in September, petrol rose 7.7 pence per litre and diesel 9.8 pence per litre. By contrast, the main production, trade and consumption series run through the end of July; solar deployment and JODI data extend through August, as do weather indicators. One publication date therefore covers several reference periods. The statistics provide a basis for monitoring the fuel mix and recent pump prices, but they do not directly forecast household bills or future wholesale prices.